Fishing Links

Brown Trout - Salmo trutta

Duane Raver/USFWSClick on picture to enlarge

Description - Oklahoma's two trout species can be
easily identified. First look at the side of the fish. A
brown trout will have orange and red spots, but a rainbow trout will be
iridescent. The brown trout will have few or no black spots on its
tail and a creamy belly. In comparison, the rainbow trout will
have black spots on its tail and a white belly. (Click on
picture to enlarge)

Brown trout have a natural ability to withstand warmer water
temperatures and higher turbidity than rainbows. In a typical trout
stream, rainbows tend to occupy faster moving water while browns can
tolerate the more slack stretches. Even though they are hardier than
rainbows, browns still require and prefer clear cold waters, and most
actively feed when water temperatures range from 50 to 60 degrees.

Because the brown trout feeds a great deal on the surface they have
become very popular with flyfishermen. The stocky brown is a bulldog
fighter when hooked, occasionally leaping out of the water. Fishing for
browns is best on overcast days, in early morning before the sun is up,
and at night. On bright days fish are more often found in the shade of
undercut banks or overhanging vegetation.

Browns commonly feed on mayfly and caddisfly nymphs, grasshoppers,
worms, crayfish and minnows. The brown’s varied diet enables anglers
to employ some of the same methods used to catch rainbows. However, at
Oklahoma’s Mountain Fork River designated trout area, fishing in some
areas is restricted to artificial flies and lures with barbless hooks
only.